How do you prepare your house for flooding?

Mary Long-Dhonau said people should make a plan for if their house floods

As winter approaches there have been more warnings about flooding hitting the UK - but what measures can people take to prepare?

Hannah Cloke, a hydrologist at the University of Reading, said past events proved many people did not have the information they needed and had not taken action to prepare their properties.

"We're completely not prepared... lots of things need doing," she said.

Flood resilience consultant Mary Long-Dhonau spoke to the BBC and gave her top tips for those whose homes are in high-risk areas.

Be prepared

"Obviously, we would all prefer to have Kitemarked flood doors or flood barriers and self closing air bricks," she said.

"But what if you haven't got those? Or what if you can't afford them?"

Ms Long-Dhonau recommended people sign up for flood alerts from the Environment Agency and make a plan to follow in the event of a flood warning.

"When it does come, your mind turns to spaghetti, your heart goes into overdrive," she said.

"But having something written down to know what you're going to do and in what order really helps."

People should sign up for alerts from the Environment Agency, Ms Long-Dhonau said

Seal your house

Being able to seal your home as best you can is an effective way of reducing flood damage, Ms Long-Dhonau said.

"The equivalent to five builders bags of water can get into your home through one air brick alone," she said.

"Just imagine how much water there is."

She said buying aluminium tape to seal them up was a relatively cheap way to "stop an awful lot of water".

The tape could also be used to seal the bottom and sides of doors, she said.

Store things right

Ensuring you have waterproof storage boxes is another way of limiting flood damage, according to Ms Long-Dhonau, as well as ensuring they are stored high up in the event of a flood.

She said the loss of treasured possessions was one of the things that upset her most when her home flooded.

"Go into your sitting room and think 'what would I be heartbroken to lose?'," she said.

"Gather your memories up and preferably don't keep them low down, but put them in those plastic boxes and get them upstairs."

She said they could also be stored on a table, and the table legs could be protected from flood water by putting them inside buckets, or even welly boots.

The government has a flooding hotline for people seeking more advice, and they can also sign up for flood updates online.